The present invention relates to a dolly for moving containers having a cylindrical base, and more specifically to a dolly having three or more nested support locations of different diameters.
Round drum dollies exist for moving individual drums of material. Such dollies typically include a cylindrical outer ring having an inner diameter which is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the container or drum (such as a 55-gallon drum) to be moved using the dolly. The container sits within the outer ring and rests on or is supported by an interior member extending between the outer ring. These conventional dollies are typically equipped with casters or wheels which are mounted below the outer ring to either the support member or the outer ring.
A typical facility or warehouse may have a variety of different cylindrical containers which need to be moved from one location to another. Accordingly, a variety of conventional, single size dollies must be available to accommodate movement of the various sized containers. In most industrial applications, common cylindrical containers include 55-gallon drums, 30-gallon drums, 5-gallon buckets, and standard propane tanks of varying capacity. In order to safely move each of these various sized containers, it is desirable to obtain multiple drum dollies, each having a diameter corresponding to a specific container size. In fact, it may be desirable to obtain multiple dollies of each size to enable movement of more than one container at a time by multiple workers. Obviously, the cost of outfitting a facility with a full complement of ergonomically safe drum dollies increases with the number and size of dolly obtained. Additionally, this quantity of dollies occupies increased storage space when not in use.
The present invention provides a container dolly adapted to receive any of four standard size cylindrical containers. The dolly includes an outer ring and a pair of support members which extend in substantially perpendicular relationship to one another and span the diameter of the outer ring. The support members include a plurality of downward steps at increasingly smaller diameters relative to the center of the outer ring which together define nested support locations to accommodate containers of various diameters. The dolly further includes four casters which are mounted below the support members adjacent the outer ring.